Organizing a Labor College

It might not speed us on our road to socialism, but it might nudge us a bit in that direction if the organizations we look to for leadership and enlightenment had names that were compelling or at least rememberable. Take AFSCME DC 37, for example. What is it—a license plate? It is, in fact, a very fine union, but it has a name that, while describing its jurisdiction, can hardly be expected to shake the world. A few unions are better endowed, but not many. UAW—the name is short and has a certain symmetry. Teamsters—yes, for some people, the word at least suggests something. AFSCME, or alternately “State-County,” suggests nothing of the prodigious vitality of that union.

The American Federation of State, C...